Healthcare metaverse in surgery: scoping review.

Area of Science:

• Surgical Innovation
• Digital Health Technologies
• Virtual Environments in Medicine

Background:

• The metaverse, an immersive virtual environment, is gaining traction in surgery.
• Its adoption in healthcare is nascent, with ongoing discussions about its definition and applications.
• This review synthesizes current evidence on the metaverse's role in surgical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize existing evidence on the use of the metaverse in surgery.
• To identify the components and application domains of the metaverse in surgical contexts.
• To provide an overview of the current understanding and future directions.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review methodology was employed.
• Systematic searches were conducted in Embase and MEDLINE without time limitations.
• Narrative synthesis analyzed identified studies on the metaverse in surgery.

Main Results:

• Fifteen studies were included from an initial search of 97 articles.
• Most studies were expert opinions (46.6%), primarily in urology (33.3%), published post-2020.
• The surgical metaverse was applied in education (53%), training (80%), operations (67%), and surgical care (53%).

Conclusions:

• Surgery is advancing towards metaverse integration, offering significant potential.
• Evidence regarding the metaverse's effectiveness and associated risks in surgery is currently limited.
• Institutions need to develop strategies for understanding and safely implementing metaverse technologies in surgical domains.